Vol. 5, Issue 2, Part A (2023)

Peripartum cardiomyopathy is an idiopathic heart failure occurring in the absence of any determinable heart disease during the last month of pregnancy or the first 5 months postpartum. The differential diagnosis includes pre-existing cardiomyopathy, such as familial dilated cardiomyopathy, previous myocarditis, and drug or toxin induced cardiomyopathy; valvular disease, congenital heart disease, such as shunt lesions; and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Common complications with PPCM include thromboembolism, arrhythmias and heart failure. A multidisciplinary approach is required to handle the pregnancy as well as its associated complications.